During discharge of shoulder firearms such as rifles and shotguns recoil forces are generated which force the gun upwards and backwards against the body of the shooter. During use a firearm is typically held with the butt up against the shooter's shoulder with his or her cheek resting on a cheek piece. This common shooting stance facilitates the shooter's sightline while at the same time stabilizing the gun to reduce the effect of the recoil forces on the shooter's aim during discharge.
In the absence of a mechanism to reduce the impact, the strength of the recoil forces of the firearm during discharge are enough to cause bruising and injury to the shooter's shoulder and/or cheek after repeated use.
Prior art recoil mechanisms have been devised to reduce the recoil force felt by the shoulder of the trap shooter as well as to alleviate the problem caused by motion of the gun against the cheek of the trap shooter. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,348, granted Jul. 16, 1991 to Donald C. Carey, a gun stock assembly with co-ordinated comb and recoil is disclosed. The Carey patent discloses a comb piece co-ordinated with the shoulder piece and associated recoil assembly. The comb piece and shoulder piece remain stationary relative to each other during shooting while the recoil assembly absorbs the recoil. The comb piece provides a stationary cheek rest which is said to eliminate the cheek-chaffing action usually associated with the use of shoulder firearms.
A similar device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,446 granted Jan. 30, 1990, naming Glenn D. Gregory as inventor. The Gregory patent discloses an adjustable comb and butt plate assembly for shoulder firearms having a stock and a recoil reducing or absorbing means at the butt end of the stock. A butt plate is slidably mounted at the rear of the stock. A comb is slidably mounted on the stock. The comb and butt plate remain stationary relative to the shooter's head and body when the firearm is fired.
In addition, the Gregory and Carey patents disclose a butt plate or shoulder piece which is adjustable relative to the stock of the gun, as is the comb. Such adjustments may be made by moving the comb or butt plate on pins which extend outward from the stock of the gun.
The devices disclosed in the Carey and Gregory patents seek to avoid having a recoil force transmitted to the cheek of the trap shooter when the gun is fired by permitting the comb of the gun to slide relative to the stock of the gun. This does not prevent a force in an upward direction on the recoil of the gun causing the comb of the gun to hit the cheek of the shooter. In guns with a fixed comb, the transmission of such a force can cause bruising to the cheek of the shooter, especially upon repeated firings of the gun such as are necessary in trap shooting competitions and the like.
Another device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,957 granted May 28, 1996 in the name of lannetta. In this device an assembly is provided for a firearm providing a comb and recoil mechanism for reducing the upwards and lateral forces of the firearm during discharge. The recoil mechanism is located in the interior of the stock. The comb comprises a cheek piece and a mounting piece. The mounting piece and the cheek piece are adapted to releasably engage a vertical plate at selectable points on the plate.
Many of the prior art mechanisms are complex and therefore costly to manufacture and install.
There is an ongoing need for an adjustable cheek piece or comb which substantially reduces the recoil forces against the user's cheek during discharge yet is simple and economical to manufacture and install. The present invention addresses this need by providing a comb assembly which may be mounted on most shoulder firearms to reduce the recoil impact against the shooter's cheek.